Hi Dan:

I teach the New Visions Environmental Science and Technology Program for
Cayuga Onondaga BOCES in Auburn. Would you be willing to participate in an informal discussion with my students about this issue?

Although we use technology, to expand our understanding of ecosystems, I find students literally go through a physical withdrawal when they are away from  their digital "fixes".
If you would be interested in meeting with us, we could examine this issue from a number of difference perspectives.
Thank you for focusing your time and talent on this critical issue. Our class meet daily 10-2 at the Cayuga Natural Resource Center.

Sincerely,
Ann Moore
252-1653
akmoore@mac.com

Children (and teens are still children, for the most part) are very adaptive.  They have taken to the digital toy age with great enthusiasm, and it pervades their existence (thank you, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates).  It should not surprise anyone that they would use them as part of their "communication" process, or that they would suffer withdrawal from them.

It's been a while since I was that age, but I remember that tweens and teens can and will be very social animals at that stage.  Being part of an "In" crowd takes precedence over almost anything else, and those who do not fit the mold can be subject to merciless comments, can be shunned and isolated, and occasionally damaged psychologically.  We seems to be seeing the results of those desperate and fortunately few individuals who can only make their mark with violent, flashy, and lethal behavior.

I'm always amazed by people who think kids are never anything but angels, kind and loving creatures of light who never lie, and never do anything harmful ("My child would NEVER do that!"). Cyber-bullying is just another method of misdirected social maturation, albeit a negative one, and it can be more cruel than face-to-face, because the offender often remains unknown and anonymous.

One solution to this apparently growing problem is to start placing more responsibility on adults (read "parents") to impart a more basic respect for others while they are in their formative ages.  If we wait until they are 16-17-18, it's probably too late, because their personalities have taken root.  Many of us remember the social experiment demonstrated by a teacher who divider her class into "Blue-eyed" and "Brown-eyed" sides, and proceded to upset the social standing of both halves.  It took almost no time for the first, "superior" group to demonstrate distain for the other group.  When the tables were turned, it was eye opening for both sides.

Disconnecting people from each other is never a good thing - we are social creatures by nature. We naturally form groups, herds, packs - pick your term.  Isolated, we become different creatures, unable to master the social interactions needed for peaceful, effective societies.  In my business, we often use teleconferences and video conferencing to reduce costs and travel time, but I have never found meetings to be more effective than when people sit around a table, look each other in the eye and discuss things face-to-face (and Facebook ain't that process).

todays society has lost the human element of feeling and human communication. most adults , though raised iin an earlier era have decided to also isolate themselves with technology that thinks and speaks for them. theres no glimmer of hope in the future to start  old fashion communication and using your brain to think for yourself. 30 years from now , we will be a neutered , mindless, souless society; thinking and speaking will be outlawed ; thank GOD, ill be dead by then; anybody out there human , other than facefurny, please , get together and restore humanity and thinking.

sounds like a problem at cns they should ban all cell phone use and texting and internet  in school they go there to learn not play

I don't think they should ban cell-phones. People have free periods, so why control them?